Just added a very cool link to the list of folks that are kind enough to link back. Tom Cat has an appropriately named blog he calls "The Cat Shack" It leans in the direction of tournament news and interviews but I'm not about to hold that against him! Welcome to anyone who might wander over this way from The Cat Shack link back.

I mentioned awhile back that it was rumored Walmart was getting out of the paintball business. Looks like the rumor was just that, a rumor, and Walmart plans to continue selling paintball supplies. Here's the story as reported by Evan Money.

Jul 30, 2009

Had a friend stop by the shop a few days ago. I had not seen him in years. He was one of my original regulars from back in the 90's! Seeing him and chatting about old times got me to thinking about some of the characters that have come and gone here at T-Square.

Rob "White Shoes" R_____ was one. He could make a Stingray sing. He wore white sneakers, hence his nickname, and he ran like the wind.

The "Invisible Man" was another. He had this old German camo coat that he wore. When he put the hood up he disappeared. I nearly stepped on him a dozen times. My poor skills of detection were always rewarded with a couple of close range hits.

And the "Floater." The creeks are out of play but I could not keep this knuckle head out of them. More than a number of times I looked in the creek only to see a hopper floating by.

I don't think I ever came up with a name for one of the only refs I ever had to fire. He came out of the woods one day and announced he just invented a great new game. Seems he was tying a balloon to the player's masks. The goal was to shoot the balloons. Don't try this at home, kiddies.

We have the usual characters. The ones you will find at any field - the "Complainer," the G. I. Joe, the "Volunteer" and the guy hanging around for free hot dogs at the end of the day.

You just never know whose going to show up to play. It's all part of the fun.

Jul 24, 2009

I wish I could laugh at and blow off stuff like this - 12 very disturbing paintball teams - but like it or not, this is what mil-sim is doing to the game of paintball. There was a time, back in the day, when the industry took steps to nip this kind of image in the bud and thank heaven they succeeded. Paintball moved away from this kind of nasty, para-military nonsense and became a game church groups and birthday parties could associate with. Soon after paintball became the "fastest growing action-adventure sport in the world."

Today, at a time when paintball is floundering and looking for a new foot hold, it pains me to see the old nastiness creep back. Even worse it pains me to see that no one is remembering one of the really good things we did in the past to actually help paintball grow. Instead the industry is embracing the mil-sim rage hoping they can hang on just a little bit longer while watching the life blood get sucked out of the game.

On the horizon the buzzards are circling, looking to pick off the last few bits with .50 caliber paintballs and 27 different tournament options. Players are being driven off in droves while the meager few die-hards stand around ringing their hands waiting for a new Messiah to come along and show Kingman and Tippmann and Smart Parts and etc. the error of its ways.

I'm not sure how to end this post. I can tell you I doubt paintball will ever again see the numbers and popularity we enjoyed in 2004. I've always believed paintball was just an odd little hiccup anyway - man's last dance with his caveman roots before trading it all in for virtual reality electrodes and vitamin D deficiency induced arm chair adventures. I suppose as long as there are two people, somewhere in the world, each with some sort of paintball gun, that the game will survive.

Jul 21, 2009

Nearly everyone is bemoaning the fact that paintball has lost a bit of it's charm lately. Participation and purchases are way down from years past. I don't care much for number crunching but it I did find this chart kind of interesting:

Since peaking in the middle of 2004 there has been a steady decline of google paintball searches. On a brighter note, Florida seems to be the paintball mecca these days with Orlando, Tampa and Miami taking the top three positions on the regional search chart. Also of interest is Canada has edged out the USA on the country search chart.

I could play the optimist and believe these numbers are inaccurate and are infected by other factors and influences. Problem is this past Sunday was the first time we posted a zero for attendance in a very long while.

Batten down the hatches. We could be in for a bumpy ride. Support your local field!

Jul 20, 2009

Back when I was marginally interested in holding tournaments, come hell or high water I awarded the advertised prizes. I also never canceled an event because sign up numbers didn't suit me. If one team showed up (and fortunately that never happened) I promised to split that team up and hold the tourney anyway.

Many event planners are short sighted. Rather than invest some time and money now in order to build something big in the future they want results NOW. Big profits. Big prizes. And this includes the teams. How many teams take the attitude, "Well, he only had 3 teams show up last time. Not worth my time."? Around these parts I reckon it's 6 or 7 teams. That's 6 or 7 teams that don't show because they are pissed that the others will not show.

Deliver what's promised. Stand by your convictions. Whether you are an event planner or a team remember - respect must be earned.

Jul 18, 2009

Why are guys so obsessed with the length of their barrel? Is it hard wired into our genes? Is it a Freudian thing? Do a few more inches really make that much difference? Is it worth it to pay for more length? Will it really enhance performance? I consider these to be important questions. A mans gotta know. Ya know!?

Jul 16, 2009

Jul 15, 2009

I did a pretty good job of keeping paintball on the down low while I took some time off from the field this past week. I wish I could say I took a vacation but when time off includes obligations it really can't be considered a vacation. I did take a quick peek through the phone book when I reached my destination in NY. Not much in the way of fields or pro-shops listed. I know there's a field somewhere close by because Orange County Chopper (just down the road) did a segment awhile back where they took some time off and played.

On the drive out I spotted a couple of fields of the paintball variety. Driving back I saw "Play Paintball" painted in big white letters across the side of a barn. No phone number. Just Play Paintball. I should have taken a picture. I tried not to think about the spool field that is in need of repair or the fruitless quest for a new gun to replace our rental fleet. I did call and check in a couple of times. Once to let my daughter know I arrived safely and another time to find out how the team did in a local tournament (They finished 1st!).

All in all it was a fairly "paintless" couple of days off. Now it's back to work.

Jul 10, 2009

Everything that's wrong with tournament ball in 5000 words or lessfrom a post over at 68Caliber:

"So what are the benefits of upgrading your marker to the latest version of software? Rather than baffle you all with technical mumbo jumbo here (is) a quick summary of the main improvements in this revision of software:

Millennium 9 and PSP 9 Preset options allowing you to conform instantly with 2009 rules by selecting the relevant option from the Preset (blah blah blah)

The MAX ROF (Maximum Rate of Fire parameter) lower limit has been reduced to 7.5 balls per second to allow users to account for any variance in the equipment that is being used to measure Rates of Fire such as PACT (blah blah blah)

The SAFE ROF (default Rate of Fire if an eye fault is detected) has been reduced to 8.0 balls per second, meaning that if your Break Beam Sensor System defaults for any reason whilst playing your Rate of Fire will not exceed 8.0bps (blah blah blah)

The FSD DLY (First Shot Drop-off Delay parameter) can now be edited and set to the users (blah blah blah)

No more incompatibility issues with newer revisions of the Empire Magna RF transmitter. Enhanced Training Mode whereby the firing cycle is inhibited and replaced by a tone emitted through the (blah blah blah)

If you do not have the latest version of software, then you can get it COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE by taking your marker to the Eclipse Tech Support Booth at any of the following events over the next couple (blah blah blah)

Jul 5, 2009

A new field opened up, with a unique operating system where the players didn't have to pay until they were finished for the day. One player decided that this was a good way to get a free day of paintball. When he was done for the day, he told the field owner that he had forgotten his wallet at home and that he would pay the field owner The next time he came to play.

"Sure," the field owner remarked, "I trust you, but to make sure I don't forget, I'll write your name on a board we have on the front of the gun shed. I'll erase it when you've paid me"

"Everyone will see it," the player remarked, "and they'll think I'm a dead beat."

"Don't worry," the owner remarked, "once the staff hangs all your equipment on it, no one will see your name." (Recon Ranger at PBJunkie)

Jul 3, 2009

While on duty, 1st Lt. Sergio Padilla, 316th Wing Protocol duty officer, greets the nation’s top leaders and foreign heads of state. Off-duty, he is a predator among prey. He runs through the valley of snipers and fears no Flatlines as one of the elite paintball players in the country. As is said in the paintball community, ‘‘Welts heal. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever.” More here.

Jul 2, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his effort to end the partisan bickering that is pushing California to the brink of insolvency, is deploying Susan Kennedy, his cigar-smoking, paintball-playing Democratic chief of staff, to get the job done.

Those who have worked with Ms. Kennedy describe her as ultra competitive, citing an April paintball game among the governor's staff. Ms. Kennedy tore a knee ligament, but stayed in the game. As a sniper, she was so aggressive that she accidentally shot at her own teammates and foiled them as they were on the verge of victory. Ms. Kennedy now walks with a limp, but said she can't wait to play again. "I know how to win now," she said. More here.

To continue with my series on The Girls of Paintball I scored a great interview with Benedicte Rønneberg, Captain of the all girl team, &quo...

From around the net...

OH NO, you didn't just say THAT!

"A billion-dollar company tried to steal my identity, and I was able to fight and regain my identity. That's why I'm on cloud nine; I fought the giant and I'm a success story against Activision." (Greg Hastings)

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Yakity yak.... 3 shot rulz... take 3 shots at my field and take a break. what's the hurry? who ya tryin to impress? this aint no freak show! why waste paint? can't hit em with three? throw three more. can't hit em with them? go fishin~ (me, on Facebook)

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Yes, I know Steve Davidson found the property that was the site of the first ever paintball game. No, I don't care. (Dale from the Ford Report)

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"How is paintball like golf? Golf is played outdoors on nice, well kept grass or, if something goes horribly wrong, off in the woods. Same with paintball." (Baca Loco)